- Congregation Beth El–Keser Israel
85 Harrison Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1724 | P: 203.389.2108 | office@beki.org
85 Harrison Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1724 | P: 203.389.2108 | office@beki.org
Shabbat shalom. Introduction As those of you know who were here on the early side this morning, I leined rishon, the first aliya to the Torah portion of this Shabbat, Va-Yetsei. This is a first for me at BEKI — the first time I have leined anything here but my original Bar Mitzva aliya in Parashat Shelah Lekha. It’s my first step toward entering the BEKI leining rotation. Through the coming year, I harbor the ambition of “leining for the cycle” —…
When I first started thinking about what I would present for my Devar Torah, I had in mind something very analytical and scholarly and what I associate with Jewish tradition: selecting a line or two from the parasha, examining it from every angle, explaining what all the great sages had to say on it, and then maybe offering my own perspective. I met with Rabbi Tilsen to get started on this, but he asked me a question that set me off on a complete…
Shabbat Shalom. Our Torah portion this week, Behar, contains the Torah’s central explication of the laws of the sh’mita, or sabbatical year, and the yovel, or Jubilee. I will focus on the latter, the Jubilee. As you will see, I hope to bring the yovel to a personal and community level, but first, let me put it in its larger context. The key introductory language of our Torah text reads as follows: You shall count off seven weeks of years – seven …
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For today’s services, a number of congregants have added touches of beauty to the synagogue and the services. In my Devar Torah, I would like examine the place of beauty and art in the Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place where we pray together, where we venerate the wisdom of the Torah, where we tell stories that celebrate our shared past. It is also a place where our spirits and our community can be invigorated, nourished, and rested. It is a sa…
The Ottoman Land Code and Registration Laws of 1858 and 1859 contributed to the conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine and Israel. (See map below.) This essay will outline the intent and provisions of the laws; then, will describe some effects of the laws; and finally, will discuss the implications for Jewish-Arab relations. Intent and Provisions of the Land Laws The Ottoman Land Code of 21 April 1858 defined five classes of land ownership:…
Today is Shabbat Para, the Sabbath of the Cow, one of the four special Shabbatot that surround the month of Adar. We read today about the famous red heifer, the para aduma, whose ashes were necessary for the purification of the Jews in preparation for Pesah. Mixed in water, the ashes of the para aduma made the ritually clean unclean and the unclean clean. Our sages regarded this passage the archetype of the hoq, the Divinely-ordained statute that…
In this haftorah [prophetic Scripture reading, Judges 4:4 – 5:31], Deborah helps Barak defeat his enemies, more or less. His enemies, or enemy, is Sisera, a general fighting for King Jabin of Canaan. In the end, Sisera gets killed by a tent spike through the head. But as they say, what goes around, comes around. In every resource that I have read, it says Deborah was a prophet. To add on to that, I’ve also read that she was the Prophet of War. Is…
This morning I’d like to comment on a few elements of today’s parasha and say a few words about the Book Of Ruth — not to necessarily enlighten you as to the meaning of the text — I leave that for others more scholarly — but to share with you how they resonated with the experience of the seven of us during our year and a half of study that brought us to this day. I’ll also be sharing some thoughts about why we chose Shavuot as a particularly appr…
The haftorah (prophetic reading) of today’s parsha (Torah portion) is a poem of Isaiah. It is a wonderful selection both because it so well echoes the sentiments of the Torah portion but also because it is such beautiful poetry. I’d like to talk about Isaiah and conclude with a reading of a portion of the haftorah. In the years 597 to 582 BCE, fifteen thousand Jewish captives were brought from Judea to Babylonia by their conquerors. About a third…
